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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Crossing the city-country divide: how do Australian farmers advocate for their industry in an urbanised world?
The view from my front lawn is paddocks and trees. From here, almost all I see is farmland and native bushland. A couple of years ago, I stood in this spot with a good friend, an immigrant from the UK. A smart, interested and interesting friend, and also a vegetarian. Which wouldn't be relevant except I'm a beef farmer, so for our friendship to prosper, this particular difference of opinion needs to be accommodated. Jess asked me what we would grow on our farm if we weren't growing livestock. The question initially confused me. Were we looking at the same landscape? Could she not see the steep hills, the prolific rocks, the lack of water? Assuming you still needed or wanted to use this land to produce food (which I do), to my mind, it is grazing land. Anything else would be extremely challenging. Not only are rocks and hills awkward to navigate, and our lack of irrigation problematic, the terrain is in places frankly a nightmare for the machinery and equipment essential to cropping. I think of a contractor who informed us he would not be working our paddocks any longer after his spreader truck got not one or two, but four flat tyres. We typically apply fertiliser by air now. I explained this to Jess, and she listened with interest. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter That's stuck with me, because it reminded me how many people have strong views about agriculture. And so they should. Farmers manage more than half of Australia's landmass. We are arguably custodians of one of the country's greatest assets: its ability to feed and clothe its own people, and the wider world. But knowledge about and personal experience of agriculture is dwindling. Perceptions of agriculture from outside of the industry – particularly in the cities where most Australians live – are often negative. Stories showcasing great custodianship and care don't make the front page – it's only news when something goes wrong. This isn't unique to our industry. I know the old newsroom adage: 'If it bleeds, it leads.' The difference in agriculture is that our work is increasingly foreign to the very people who rely on our produce every day. It's the challenge of our industry, and one I've personally taken on: to advocate in an environment where the divide between rural and urban communities is greater than ever before. In 2021, 66.9% of Australia's population lived in its greater capital cities. Many have little or no connection to the people who grow the products they eat, wear or use every day. Research by CQUniversity makes this gap even clearer. In 2021 they surveyed more than 5,000 primary and secondary school students to evaluate their knowledge of agriculture. The results were, to my mind, alarming. They found secondary students who believe Australian cattle are raised exclusively in sheds. (To clarify, only 4% of Australia's beef herd is in a feedlot at any given time and are generally raised on pasture. Only 20% of Australia's milk production comes from intensive or housed dairy systems.) They also found primary school students who believe cotton is an animal product not a plant; and who believe chickens are routinely fed hormones (a practice banned more than 60 years ago). I believe the work of an advocate, unlike that of an activist or influencer, is to build connection and knowledge. To start with a desire to understand: what do you think of agriculture? What would you like to know? I ask these questions not because I expect to change your mind, but I hope to engage with you. I hope you might share with me, so I might better understand perceptions of agriculture. I don't believe the future of agricultural advocacy lies simply in an exchange of facts, though I wholeheartedly agree all conversations should be underpinned by credible research and evidence. But it's the stories from agriculture that I believe truly show the deeply complex industry of which I'm a part. That shows you the heart of it, and what it has to offer. Sometimes those stories are dark. Death, not often part of everyday urban life, is a normal part of agriculture, especially livestock farming. That can be confronting, even for farmers with decades of experience. But it's part of our life. When my eldest daughter was two, we had a terrible calving season, with cows struck down by a condition called grass tetany. It resulted in the death of many cows straight after birthing. One morning my daughter asked me to play with her. 'Be a cow, Mummy!' I obliged and tried to look suitably bovine. 'Moo, Mummy!' I mooed. 'Now lie down dead!' I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I probably did both. Stories can also share joy. I took a couple of orphan lambs we were hand-rearing into my daughter's childcare and gave a group of very excited three-year-olds the opportunity to interact with them. We bottle-fed the lambs and passed around handfuls of unprocessed wool, and some yarn, to compare textures and smell. The kids delighted in the experience, and our much-loved lambs fought over the milk bottle. All went well, with some added entertainment from my daughter casually taking a swig from the lambs' milk bottle. Raising livestock is complex. Together with my husband, we're dedicated to raising our children to appreciate the joy of caring for animals and providing them with an environment to thrive, alongside the understanding that we are growing animals for food and fibre. Farmers often say city people don't understand agriculture. But the gap goes both ways. Most farmers I know own the land they work. It's easy to forget what it's like to bid for a rental, move every 12 months, or raise kids in high-rise apartments with no green space. We complain about potholes and distances between towns, but we're not stuck on highways for hours each day, or wrangling toddlers and groceries on public transport. Bridging that divide isn't about proving who has it tougher. It's about recognising the difference and respecting what each life involves. I love the saying: 'No one in the history of calming down has ever calmed down because they were told to calm down.' I don't see a future for agricultural advocacy in telling people stuff. I see a future in listening and in sharing, openly. Does my friend Jess want me to grow plants, not animals, for food on our property? Maybe. Just because we have the same information doesn't mean we're going to have the same opinion. But I think she also understands why we grow beef. And while she won't be having steak on the barbecue with us any time soon, I'm grateful she gave me the chance to explain why we do what we do. Felicity Richards is the chairperson of Farmsafe Australia and the Tasmanian Biosecurity Advisory Committee. She runs a beef grazing operation in northern Tasmania with her husband, Mark. You can contact her here. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
A Texas suburb that saw its population jump by a third is the fastest-growing city in the US
DALLAS — The fastest-growing city in the U.S. last year was a Dallas suburb that saw its population jump by nearly a third. The number of residents in Princeton, located about 46 miles (74 kilometers) north of Dallas, increased from about 28,000 to 37,000 from 2023 to 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The growth has come so quickly that the city — which more than doubled its population since 2020 — has struggled to build roads and infrastructure fast enough as it transforms from a farming community.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- ABC News
Subdivision plans near Wharton Beach raise questions from farming community
A farming community in Western Australia's remote south-east has questioned plans for a 300-block subdivision near one of the country's most pristine beaches. Perth-based developer John Bestall wants to create a "holiday village-style" precinct on his 607-hectare property, 770 kilometres south-east of Perth and 60km east of Esperance. His plans, submitted to the Shire of Esperance, propose 1-8ha lots that would suit rural residential living or tourist accommodation, given the famous Wharton Beach and Duke of Orleans Bay are a five-minute drive down the road. He also believes the project would support the future development of a new town site in the area. The Orleans Bay Road property currently contains a tree plantation that would be harvested prior to development. Esperance's current local planning strategy already supports a future town site at Wharton Beach, opposite the existing caravan park. The area is a popular tourist destination with visitors regularly driving from Esperance to fish, camp, surf and see the famous white sand beaches. But the region is remote and has little infrastructure apart from the caravan park and services at Condingup, 25km to the north. With his land currently zoned as rural, Mr Bestall has asked for support to change the classification to allow for additional tourism, conservation and residential use. It also proposes creating "conservation covenants" and leaving 144 hectares as a large rural lot to protect native vegetation. In Condingup, a hub and meeting point for the local farming community, the project has sparked plenty of discussion. Marie Fowler, who farms in the area, believes long-time farmers wanting to retire locally would like the idea, while others would worry about its impact on the existing town. "There's not an option [elsewhere] really to have that lifestyle block, a five-acre block or something a bit bigger," she said. "So I think there is interest from that point of view. But she said there was concern the new precinct may overwhelm Condingup as it could be more than three times its size. She was interested to learn more as the process moved forward. Peter Brown, a retiree who lives at the nearby caravan park, worried the development would put too much pressure on the area and lead to reduced accessibility to the coast. "The Wharton town site, that's been spoken about ever since I can remember. Nothing ever happened with it," he said. "Personally, I don't think it needs to be there." While he said the region desperately needed housing, he believed it should be closer to Esperance or Condingup. "From my perspective I hope it doesn't go ahead," he said. "But … that's maybe just being selfish." Esperance Shire chief executive Shane Burge said if the subdivision was to happen, the developer would be responsible for putting in public amenities such as roads and green spaces. He said the shire would take on responsibility once it was finished, funded through rates paid by new property owners. He said the area would likely also need its own water supply scheme. But he said the idea was still a long way off. "There is [community] concern," he said. "We'll make sure if the planning commission do support it that it's widely put out there [for public feedback]."
